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Man hit by SUV in critical condition

From Staff and Wire Reports

A car passenger who stepped out of the vehicle to retrieve a pair of glasses late Friday night was air-lifted to Vanderbilt University Hospital in critical condition after being struck by an oncoming sport utility vehicle, police said.

The driver of the SUV, Gregory Richards, 23, 8691 Richards Road, Lyles, was arrested and charged with failure to stop and render aid, police said. He was released Saturday from Maury County Jail on $5,000 bond, according to jail officials.

Miller said the incident occurred about 11:30 p.m. Friday on South James Campbell Boulevard at Brookemeade Drive.

“Witnesses told us the victim was picked up by a relative at Dougall’s and came down onto James Campbell,” Miller said. “Apparently he got agitated about something and threw his glasses out of the car. When the car stopped at Brookemeade at the stoplight, he got out on the passenger side and went back to get his glasses.

“The other vehicle didn’t see him, I guess, then hit him and left the scene,” Miller continued. “After he got down the road, he realized he shouldn’t have left the scene and came back a short time later.”

Miller said the incident is still under investigation and more charges could be filed.

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Hospital sponsors new food pantry

Officials with Maury Regional Medical Center have started the state’s first hospital-sponsored food pantry.

According to a press release, MRMC’s “Friends and Family Nutrition Fund,” which began in November, is a partnership between the hospital and the Nashville-based Second Harvest Food Bank.

The program was founded by Jerry Coulter, assistant director of Food Services at MRMC, who partnered with the hospital’s clinical dietitian, Keri Howell, to begin work.

“In July, we started forming a group of medical center employees that have a similar passion and quickly received approval from administration,” Coulter said in the press release.

While the majority of collections for the pantry so far have been donated by hospital employees, monetary donations are being accepted by the Maury Regional Health Care Foundation, either by mail to 2224 Trotwood Ave., Columbia TN 38401, or online at www.mauryregionalfoundation.com. Denote on checks or on the online comment section that the donation is for the “Family and Friends Nutrition Fund.”

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Man pleads guilty in child rape case

A Lawrenceburg man this week was convicted on two counts of aggravated sexual battery following his arrest in April for incidents that occurred a decade ago, authorities said.

Robert Stephen “Bird” Rosson pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of aggravated sexual battery stemming from his arrest on two counts of rape of a child involving a single victim, according to a press release from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department.

He was sentenced to 12 years in the Tennessee Department of Corrections and will be required to register on the Sex Offender Registry for life.

Rosson admitted to having sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 13 in 2002, the release said.

“The victim who came forward in this case showed tremendous courage and was able to reveal a predator living amongst our community,” Lt. Nathan Neese said in the release.

During the course of the investigation, the release said, investigators learned Rosson had victimized more children but their identities are unknown.

Neese said he and other members of his department hope Rosson’s conviction will serve as justice for his other victims and can give them some peace of mind that their abuser is now known.

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Columbia soldier featured in book

A local man has been featured in a new book, written to honor veterans of the Vietnam War.

The story of Columbia native James Lockridge, who served in the conflict from 1959 until he was killed in Vietnam in 1966, is featured in “All They Left Behind: Legacies of the Men and Women on The Wall.”

According to a press release, the book was published by The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and M.T. Publishing Company to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington, D.C.

Proceeds from book sales will benefit the Education Center at The Wall, which is expected to eventually feature photos of Lockridge and other soldiers killed in the Vietnam conflict. The release reports that so far, only 495 photos have been submitted from the 1,294 Tennessee names that appear on the memorial.

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Retrial of former sheriff ends

with hung jury

ERWIN — The retrial of former Unicoi County Sheriff Kent Harris has ended with a hung jury — again.

The Johnson City Press reported that jurors deliberated for about four hours on Friday before telling the judge they had deadlocked in the case. The trial began Monday in Unicoi County Criminal Court in Erwin.

Harris is being retried on a charge of theft over $1,000 after the jury at his initial trial failed to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared in August.

Prosecutors said during the trial that Harris ended up in possession of $4,500 in county funds for two vehicles that were donated by Tom and Lynn Colbaugh. Harris contends that the vehicles were purchased and money from their sale was to be used for dog training.

The Colbaughs testified for the prosecution.

After the jury returned without a verdict, Harris expressed sympathy with them.

“Sitting there listening to everything that was said about me, I can understand why a couple of the jurors voted guilty,” he said, while maintaining that he did nothing wrong.

“I am not guilty,” he said. “I didn’t steal one dime from the county.”

Prosecutors said they were disappointed in the outcome and weren’t sure whether they would try the case again. They have until Jan. 15 to decide.

“We thought, as last time, that we had put on a good amount of evidence that the defendant in this case, Mr. Harris, was guilty of taking this money,” District Attorney General Tony Clark said.

He said he would speak to witnesses and county representatives before making a decision.

“I think after trying this one twice and putting on the evidence that we had and the witnesses, I don’t see putting the Colbaughs and some of the witnesses through this again, but that’s a decision I’d rather talk to them about and talk with the county officials before I make that decision,” he said.

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